Braider Blog

Hello Braiders! Please give a warm welcome to Tanei Atagi Henry (she's the lovely lady with short dark hair in the center of the photo above), our newest blog contributor. You'll see Tanei post here a couple of times each month about a different topic that will get your business growth gears going. We're so happy to have her on board. -Allison

My name is Tanei Atagi Henry. I graduated from BYU and taught English, coached volleyball and co-sponsored Student Government at Timpview High School. Originally, I am from Independence, Missouri, but we choose to stay in Utah because we love the weather, the mountains, and the lack of humidity. I miss delicious BBQ. Eating is one of my top talents, especially when someone else is cooking. My husband is a great cook. We have three children who make us laugh.

As we move into the second half of 2016, how are your New Year’s resolutions going? If they are still happening in any form, CONGRATULATIONS! If you’re like the rest of us, though, you could probably use a little encouragement. And that’s cool. The first step to improvement is admitting that you have something to work on, right?

We, at BRAID, are on your side. This month’s workshop will feature Zane Gray from Entrepreneur Simplified on how to set and attain sales goals. Before we get to that, let’s talk about accountability, a broader but still related topic. The mention of the word ACCOUNTABILITY might send shudders down your spine, but it shouldn’t. And this excerpt from the article “Stop confusing: Accountability vs. Responsibility vs. Authority!” explains why.“First let’s split this word in its two parts: Account|ability Account – “A report or description of an event or experience” – Oxford dictionary Ability – “Possession of the means or skill to do something” – Oxford dictionarySo combined ‘Accountability’ is literally the ability to report on events or experiences.”​I am able to report on events or experiences. You are able to report on events or experiences. Anyone you are hiring is surely able to report on events or experiences. Once you establish a system for reporting, you can use accountability as a tool to identify strengths and weaknesses which will lead to improvement in your weaker areas. The first step to improvement is admitting that you have something to work on, right...full circle, people!

So, let’s dig in here. As an entrepreneur, to whom are you accountable? How do you hold yourself accountable? What happens when you meet your goals and what happens when you don’t? What is in your control, what is beyond your control? There are a lot of questions to consider when creating a system that works for you and all the answers are based on what you and your company value.

Here are three tips to help you set up your accountability system:

Know what to report- A company in its infancy will be reporting on different things than a veteran company, but all reports should be based on making the company’s vision and goals a reality. Break broad goals into smaller quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals that will bring you closer to realizing your company’s vision.

Know what motivates you- Some business owners prefer to self-monitor and self-motivate. Other owners work better with a partner or team for motivation and encouragement. You do you.

Know how often to report- A certain amount of satisfaction comes from reporting progress. Whether it is checking a task off your individual list or informing a coworker that the task is complete, the simple act of reporting reminds you where you are and where to go next. It can be helpful to set a regular appointment either with yourself or team members to report on goal progress.

In the past few weeks, I have been simply utilizing the reminders app on my phone. An alarm goes off every day at 7 am reminding me to complete my daily task. Sometimes I mark it as complete as soon as it goes off. Sometimes, I don’t get to report it as complete until 9 pm. The important part is that because the reminder is there, I am complete the task more frequently. Personally, I work better when I am reporting to another person, but I do find that physically marking a task as completed also works for me. So, once I have established how reporting will happen, more things get accomplished.

What systems of accountability work for you? How are you going to recommit today?